Monday, May 1, 2017

The Magazine Experiment: An Introduction

In today's world, people are looking everywhere for different ways to better themselves or learn new things. While some flock to read the newest self-help book by the trendiest guru, take online classes, or travel abroad, there are still some that turn to tried-and-true magazines (or at least their online form).

Now I'll be honest, my first thought when I think of magazines goes directly to a waiting room of any kind. In fact, I still remember seeing magazines like Highlightsand National Geographic KIDS in the waiting room at the dentist back when I was in elementary school. Or that my grandma - still to this day - has old issues of Readers Digest in her bathroom.

But besides finding themselves in waiting room purgatory, magazines serve many different purposes. On one hand, you have your traditional magazines that write in-depth articles and conduct thoughtful interviews with the world's most influential people. These are magazines like LIFE, National Geographic or Newsweek. Your classical magazines that are appreciated for their journalism and professionalism.

On another hand, you have your lifestyle magazines that exist to help their readers improve their quality of life or the way they do life. These are magazines like Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, Midwest Living or Family Circle, and people read them for articles on how to keep their laundry room organized, landscaping tips, recipes for any occasion, or the ever so popular "life hacks."

And this barely scratches the surface of the deep ocean that is magazines. I didn't even mention magazines on celebrity gossip, cooking, hobbies, travel, style or sports. So I hope this gives you an idea of the size of the pool we're dealing with - an endless wealth of magazine article gold!

So by this point you're probably asking, "Sooo....what's The Magazine Experiment?" Well this idea stemmed from two years of me neglecting Men's Health magazines after being gifted a subscription as a Christmas gift. I was overweight then (and am even more so now), but rather than read them and learn from them, I let them all pile up on a shelf to collect dust. As someone who's been a weight loss yo-yo for the last eight years, they were frankly intimidating. The workouts seemed aimed at gym rats who were looking to make their already huge muscles even huger, and not so much at the 300 pound guy who was looking to get going in the right direction. It wasn't until recently that I opened them and started paging through them.

As I did, I was surprised by the number of different aspects to the magazine. Of course they suggested workouts and recipes to try, but they even gave random advice/tips on how to sing karaoke, spring clean your grill or buy a great suit! So I cut out every single article that I could actually try and experiment. And I decided that documenting my experiments either in written and/or video form was the best way to go. So here we are!

To start, I'll be documenting my tests here on the blog. Once I am able to make videos on a regular-ish basis, I'll be adding those to our YouTube channel. So let's get this ball rolling, shall we?

For starters, please let me know your favorite magazine! Or let me know of an article you'd like for me to put to the test!